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July 4, 1887. 



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ENQriREB PRINT, 960 BROADWAY, OAKLAND. 



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Sonoma, August 4, 1887. 
Hon. C. Hartson — Dear Sir: The Fourth of July Committee 
lias instructed me officially to thank you for your instructive and 
able address delivered here before the Mexican Veterans and 
citizens of Sonoma valley on the 4th ult., and to request a copy 
ior publication. 

We are verj'^ grateful to you for this, as well as many other acts 
of kindness and consideration shown to the people of this valley. 
Very respectfully, 

ROBERT A. POPPE, 
Secretary Fourth of July Committee. 



Resolced — That it would be in a high degree gratifying to the 
Veterans of the Mexican War, if Hon. Chancellor Hartson and 
K, A. Poppe would kindly supply the press with copies, for publi- 
cation, of their respective addresses, delivered to their fellow- 
citizens in Sonoma on the Fourth of July instant, to the end that 
the very interesting matters so ably treated therein may find their 
appropriate places in the history of our country, and we respect- 
iuUy request them to acquiesce in this desire. 

Eesolred — That the Secretary of this Association be, and he is 
liereby instructed to forward to each of the gentlemen named, a 
eopv of foregoing resolution. 

T. W. TALIAFERRO. 

I hereby certify that the above resolutions were unanimously 
adopted at a regular meeting of the Association held 
July 14, 1887. 

isEAL.J H. LOUIS VON GEISTEFIELD, Secretary. 

San Francisco, July 18, 1887. 






ADDRESS 

— BY — 

C. HARTSON, 

Sonoma, July 4, 1887. 



For more than a century the morning sun of 
this day has been welcomed b}^ all of the people 
of the United States with booming cannon, with 
acclamations and tumultuous jo}^ ; and it has de- 
scended behind the evening curtains amid eulo- 
gies, hosannas, bonfires and illuminations. 

This is the anniversary of an event that has 
produced the most salutary effect, teaching na- 
tions the capacity of man for self-government 
and checking the exercise of despotic power by 
the establishment of the government of a great 
people on principles of reason, justice, equalit}' 
and natural law. 

We have met here not only to commemorate 



[ 4 ] 

the day on which the Colonies separated from 
the Mother Country, the natal day of our 
Republic, but the day of the birth of liberty on 
this Western Continent ; the day when free in- 
stitutions were adopted by a great nation with 
the declaration emblazoned upon our country's 
standard that all men were created free and 
equal and entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit 
of happiness. 

TIME OF RECONCILIATION. 

We now meet to reflect upon our history and 
consider our present standing, to view the in- 
structive tablets and the historic paintings in the 
galleries of our country's achievements. 

We meet reverentially and deferent iall}^ and 
we trust with hearts full of kindness and charity^ 
to thank those that met the frown of power, and 
hazarded everything for our peace and happiness ; 
and also to speak words of cheer and encourage- 
ment to our countrymen, witnesses with us of 
our country's grandeur and glory, and, like us, 
recipients of its benefits. 

This is especially the day when under a com- 
mon standard, by the inspiration of common in- 
terests, with a common heritage achieved by 
common ancestral sacrifice and with a common 



[ 5 ] 

destin}^ kindnesses may be revived and engen- 
dered, virtues be remembered and magnified, and 
faults be -forgiven and forgotten. 

This is the appropriate time and occasion to 
unite and harmonize under the stainless and 
ample folds of our country's flag, on which should 
be inscribed in letters of living light by all 
Americans with fraternal hands, "Liberty and 
union not alone of country, but of countrymen, 
now and forever." 

UNIVERSALITY OF FREEDOM. 

We welcome to the festivities of this day, we 
invite to participate with us in these rejoicings, 
all who fraternize with us in these principles and 
sentiments; all who worship at the shrine of 
liberty regulated by law ; all whose hearts glow 
with patriotic exultation, at the mention of the 
names of Washington, Lafayette and the Revolu- 
tionary heroes. 

We give the right hand of fellowship to all 
of our faith, whether they come from the land 
of Garibaldi or Hampden, Baron Steuben or 
Kosciusko, or any other part of the globe; all 
such are welcomed as brethren in this celebra- 
tion of our country's birth and progress. Here 
at this banquet we hail him as brother, whose 



[ 6 ] 

heart responds to the canons of law and order 
and freedom. 

TERRITORIAL EXPANSION. 

At the time of the revolution there were thir- 
teen colonies lying on the Atlantic coast with 
claim to inlying and adjacent territory lying 
east of the Mississippi river and north of 
latitude 31 degrees. 

Since the Declaration of Independence not 
only has the commerce, the wealth and the pop- 
ulation of the Republic increased with amazing 
rapidity, but its bounds have been extended and 
its area greatly enlarged. 

There has been corresponding progress in 
every department of the Government, improve- 
ment in the methods of its administration, per- 
fection of its principles, development of its re- 
sources and enlargement of its domain. 

The tree of liberty early planted on the At- 
lantic shores has grown, extending its roots and 
branches to the Pacific, and now waves its golden 
foliage on the summit of the Sierras; fanned and 
watered by the breezes and exhalations of the 
two distant and mighty oceans. 

While our speeches teem with well-deserved 
eulogies of our native land, and while we speak 



[ 7 ] 

in terms of highest commendation of the fabu- 
lous increase of our population and our material 
progress, I trust that it will not be without in- 
terest and profit to briefly consider the prodi- 
gious enlargement of our borders. 
LOUISIANA. 
This important possession was ceded to the 
United States by France on the 30th of April, 
1803, by treaty, and on the 30th of October 
following, the treaty was ratified by the United 
States. Spain then held the Floridas, and the 
boundaries of the French and Spanish provinces 
in America were not well defined or understood. 
Frane then claimed from the Floridas to the Rio 
Grande. 

SPANISH TREATY OF 1 795- 

By a treaty between the United States and 
Spain of October 27, 1795, our western boundary 
was fixed in the middle of the Mississippi, down 
to the 31st degree of latitude, and the naviga- 
tion of the whole breadth of the river from its 
source to the ocean, was to be free to the sub- 
jects and citizens of both countries. 

CESSION OF THE FLORIDAS AND OREGON. 

Spain, by a treaty concluded on the 2 2d day 
of February, 1819, and ratified on the 24th day 



[ 8 ] 

of October, 1820, ceded to the United States all 
of her territory east of the Mississippi known as 
East and West Florida, and also a large territory 
west of the Mississippi, extending to the Pacific 
Ocean and its western division, bounded on the 
south by latitude 42 degrees north, including 
Oregon and Washington Territories in the 
cession. 

THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

Among the last Acts passed during the admin- 
istration of President Tyler was the annexing 
of Texas to the United States, which was ratified 
at a convention held by the people of Texas on 
the 4th day of July, 1845. 

CALIFORNIA, NEw MEXICO AND ARIZONA. 

By a treaty of peace, friendship, security and 
settlement made in the month of February, 1848, 
Mexico ceded to the United States, New Mexico, 
Upper California and Arizona, with a part of 
Utah and Colorado. 

ALASKA. 

In the year 1867, Alaska was purchased from 
Russia and became a possession of the United 
States. Alaska has an area of 531,409 square 
miles. The United States, including all the 



[ 9 ] 

States and Territories, is credited with an area of 
3,547,000 sqnare miles. 

DISPUTED BOUNDARIES. 

Several times dispntes of the most serions and 
alarming nature have arisen between the United 
States and Britain in regard to the boundary of 
the Canadas and British Columbia. Fortunately 
these have been amicably adjusted by negotia- 
tions. 

Thus step by step, have the boundaries of our 
commonwealth advanced, as its wealth and popu- 
lation have increased, until each is expressed by 
figures of stupendous magnitude. Our popula- 
tion is so vast that it exceeds sixty millions. 
Measured by square miles, the extent of our 
country is so great that it contains more than 
three and one-half millions, and our wealth is 
forty-five thousand million dollars. 

THE SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Those who took part in the War for Independ- 
ence have all yielded to nature's fiat, more power- 
ful than the thunders of battle. They all sleep 
in the land rescued from tyranny and made 
sacred by their spirit and bravery. They are all 
' now in the tender care of Him who regardeth 



[ lO ] 

with interest the lily's beauty and the sparrow's 
safety. 

The herocs of Lund3^'s Lane and of the various 
battles of the War of 1812, on land and on sea, 
are sleeping gently side by side with their Revo- 
lutionary sires, and w411 no more be roused b}^ 
the sharp command or martial music or the burst- 
ing shell. 

But notwithstanding their bodies lie mould- 
ering in the dust, yet their heroic actions, their 
noble characters, and the principles of liberty b}^ 
them exalted and established still live, radiating 
their sacred and powerful influences outward to 
the very circumference of mankind and onward 
to the end of time, scattering benedictions over 
the length and breadth of the world. 

THE MEXICAN WAR AND MEXICAN VETERANS. 

Yet we have this day with us those who, to 
sustain the Government of the United States and 
defend its honor and flag, have taken part in the 
impetuous charge and successful repulse, on 
battle-fields strewed with our dead and dying 
countrymen. 

We have with us veterans of many a well- 
fought battle of that war, of which I will attempt 
a brief description. 



[ " ] 

The annexation of Texas engendered the most 
bitter and hostile spirit towards the United 
States, by Mexico. The ownership of the terri- 
tory between the Nneces and the Rio Grande, 
had been a snbject of dispute between Mexico 
and Texas. 

Under authorit}^ of the Government of the 
United States, General Ta3dor on the 28th of 
March, 1846, took possession of this territory 
and constructed Fort Brown opposite IMatamoras 
on the other side of the Rio Grande. Early in 
May following. General Arista, Commander-in- 
Chief of the Mexican forces, with 6,000 men, 
crossed the Rio Grande, an J on the 8th of that 
month attacked General Taylo/ with a command 
of 2,300 at Palo x\lto. The next da}^ a most 
sanguinary battle was fought at Resaca de la 
Palma, where the Mexican army was over- 
whelmed and driven across the Rio Grande. 
September the 9th, General Taylor, with 6,625 
men, marched against Monterey, which w^as de- 
fended by General Ampudia with 10,000 regular 
troops. General Taylor assaulted the place, 
and, after three days of desperate fighting. Gen- 
eral Ampudia surrendered. On the 21st of 
February, 1847, General Santa Ana with 21,000 
veteran troops, the flower of the Mexican army, 



[ 12 ] 

attacked General Taylor with a much smaller 
command at Buena Vista and was most signally 
defeated. During the rest of the war the valley 
of the Rio Grande remained in the quiet pos- 
session of our forces. 

GENERAL SCOTT 

On the 9th of March, 1847, landed 12,000 men 
at Vera Cruz for the purpose of its capture, and 
also the capture of the city of Mexico. Nearly 
thirty years before. General Scott had shown 
skill and bravery scarcel}^ paralleled in the 
annals of warfare, in one of the most hotly con- 
tested battles of the War of 181 2. 

On the 2 2d of March, General Scott besieged 
Vera Cruz with bomb and battery and all the 
appliances of war. 

On the fifth day of the siege, the Castle of San 
Juan de Ulloa, built to def}^ bomb and all the 
engineering of war, yielded to the fierce and con- 
tinuous assault, and the city with its supposed 
impregnable castle surrendered. After this cap- 
ture, General Scott with 8,500 men pushed on 
over the national highways to attack the Mexican 
capital. About fifty miles from Vera Cruz, Gen. 
Santa Ana with a force of about 12,000 had 
fortified the Pass of Cerro Gordo, and was pre- 



r 13 ] 

pared to contest the advance of our army. The 
Mexican forces had all the advantages in num- 
bers, in position and in preparation. A terrific 
battle ensued. 

The victory of our arms was brilliant and 
decisive. The loss on the battle-field was great 
on both sides. The Mexican official journal 
attributes the disastrous result to '' inevitable 
misfortune, the result of the tactics of the in- 
vader, that no expectations were entertained of 
the rare, bold and desperate operations of the 
enemy." 

Five months afterwards, the American flag 
floated over the Mexican capital amid the exul- 
tations of as brave an army as time has wit- 
nessed. 

General vScott's great reputation was not di- 
minished by his rapid and successful movements 
in Mexico. General Taylor's brilliant achieve- 
ments on the Rio Grande, from Palo Alto to 
Buena Vista, had deservedly given him high 
rank among militar}^ chieftians. Each left 
Mexico the idol of the army, and greatly ad- 
mired by their countrymen for their gallantry 

and heroism. 

CALIFORNIA. 

While these stirring events were occurring in 



[ 14 ] 

Mexico, California was the scene of intense 
excitement. The Government of the United 
States, anticipating a conflict in California, dis- 
patched Commodore Stockton in October, 1845, 
with re-enforcements to the sqnadron then on the 
Pacific Coast nnder the command of Commodore 
Sloat, whom he succeeded on his arrival at Mon- 
tere3\ Also General Kearney, then in command 
of the Army of the West, received an order to re- 
pair to the Pacific Coast. He proceeded through 
New Mexico by the way of Santa Fe to Southern 
California, and on the 6th of December, 1846, with 
his command participated in the battle of San 
Pascual. Kearney commanded the marines, 
sailors, volunteers and a detachment of dragoons 
in the battles of San Gabriel and battles on the 
plains of Mesa, January 8th and 9th, 1847. 

Captain Fremont in the spring of 1845 set out 
on his third expedition to explore the land and 
maritime facilities of California and Oregon, and 
w^ith his command reached California in the 
spring of 1845, having crossed the Sierras in 
mid-winter. General Castro, the Governor of 
California, regarded Fremont's presence as un- 
friendly and prepared to attack him. Fremont 
concluded to go north in the execution of the 
purposes of his mission. A bearer of dispatches 



[ 15 ] 

from Washington overtook him on the 9th of 
May, 1846, near the Klamath Lake, and directed 
him to return to California, observe movements, 
and await orders. He promptly retraced his 
steps and raised the flag of Independence, and 
was supported by the American settlers who 
flocked to his standard. On the 27th day of 
May, Fremont organized the California Battalion, 
of which he was appointed Major. On July 4th, 
1846, Fremont was elected Governor of Cali- 
fornia by the settlers. As soon as the news ar- 
rived that war existed between the United States 
and Mexico, the project of making California an 
independent State was abandoned. On the 19th 
of Jul}^, 1846, Fremont with 160 mounted rifle- 
men joined Commodore Sloat's forces at Mon- 
terey. About the same time Commodore Stock- 
ton arrived at Monterey with the frigate Congress 
and took command of the Pacific squadron with 
authority to conquer California. Stockton ap- 
pointed Fremont Military Commander and Civil 
Governor. 

Active measures were taken by the land and 
naval forces to make a complete conquest of the 
countr}^, which was perfected on the 13th of 
January, 1847, ^Y Articles of Capitulation that 



[ i6] 

left the country permanently in the possession of 
the United States. 

Attending the war in California there were 
many thrilling adventures, and much personal 
bravery was exhibited by our citizen soldiers. 

It is especially fitting that these services 
should be had here in Sonoma, and that this day 
should be celebrated at this place made memor- 
able by early and conspicuous acts of valor and 
patriotism, which have been so faithfully and 
eloquently described by your own esteemed 
citizen and orator, Mr. Poppe, and by your 
honored President of this day's proceedings, Mr. 
Howe. 

In the war with Mexico, the sons of every sec- 
tion of the Union fought and fell side by side. 
The Mexican battalions were brave and des- 
perate, but had not the fortitude and steadiness 
that a colder climate and thorough drill gave to 
our soldiers. 

Our army encountered not only Mexican ba}'- 
onets, but the pestilential climate of Mexico — 
more destructive than bayonets and bullets. 

The parched sands and heated atmosphere of 
that southern clime licked up some of the best 
blood of our army. Long may the survivors live 



[ >7 ] 

to enjoy the excellencies of the Govi^rnnienl they 
defended, and the gratitude of the people. 

OUR REVOLUTION 

Has been so often the theme of discourse, and 
its great events, beginning with Bunker Hill and 
ending with Yorktown, so minutel}^ described, 
that they are familiar to all. 

In this war our forefathers encountered a foe 
hardy, disciplined w4th drill and battle, and ani- 
mated with the flush of victories on hundreds of 
ensanguined fields. 

For seven long years, in poverty and destitu- 
tion they contended against the most wealthy 
and the most powerful nation on the globe. 

The memory of those who have sacrificed their 
lives for their country, and those who survived 
the shock of battle, is made immortal not alone 
through the pages of history, but by the institu- 
tions they founded and the monuments they 
have erected to arts, science and arms from 
ocean to ocean. The enterprises, the improve- 
ments, and the social system as well as political, 
of this great commonwealth, rise up to witness 
the immensity, as well as the grandeur of their 
achievements. 

The deeds of valor displayed at Lexington, 



[ i8 ] 

Bunker Hill, Yorktown, and on the battle-fields 
of the Revolution will be recited with thrilling 
interest so long as patriotism and courage are 
respected; so long as civil and religious libert}^ 
and free government are admired by men. 

DR. JOSEPH WARREN. 

What name amid the innumerable distin- 
guished names of the world's annals shines with 
more luster than that of Dr. Joseph Warren, 
one of the mart3^rs of the American Revolution? 

We do not need to recur to the fields of Mara- 
thon and Thermop^dge for examples of heroism 
and patriotic virtue, but can find them in our 
own country and among our own forefathers. 
We behold the highest lessons of patriotism and 
chivalric character in the contemplation of the 
exploits and sacrifices of our own countrymen. 

Gen. Warren's death, like that of many 
others, was a source of intense public, wide- 
spread grief "Among the dead (is recorded in 
the Massachusetts Congressional Archives of 
the battle of Bunker Hill) was Major-General 
Joseph Warren, a man whose memory will be 
endeared to his countrymen and to the worthy 
in every part and age of the world so long as 



[ 19 ] 

virtue and valor shall be esteemed among man- 
kind." 

We have come here this day to pay a grateful 
tribute to all those who have joined in battle in 
our country's cause, whether at Lexington or 
Cerro Gordo, at Monmouth or Buena Vista; and 
let no inauspicious age come that bears not wit- 
ness of our gratitude for their services and their 
worth. 

We come here to pay a tribute to all of those 
who have by endurance, by fortitude, by brav- 
ery, and by suffering, contributed to build up 
this great nation, whether fallilig in the tem- 
pests of the ocean, through the hardships of early 
settlements, by the tomahawk of the savage, by 
the soldiers of the Mother Countr}^ or a foreign 
foe. Wherever the bones of our countrymen lie 
bleaching, from Maine to Oregon, they having 
fallen in the great struggle for freedom and 
nationality, we come here to join in reverent 
and grateful remembrance of their names, their 
services and their sufferings. 

The battles of constitutional liberty have been 
nobly fought, and the inestimable prize won at 
terrible cost. 

To secure the independence of the United 
States from Great Britain, and to defend the 



[ 20] 

country from foreign aggressions, have cost in- 
describable hardships and sufferings, and the 
best blood of the nation. 

The ensanguined fields of Saratoga and York- 
town, of Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec, are me- 
morials of the sacrifices made and the great 
work accomplished. 

The freedom of our countr^^ is our heroes' 
epitaph; its prosperity, its peace and its happi- 
ness their everlasting memorial. 

And until "the skies fade and the sun grows 
dim and nature sinks in years/' ma}^ this and 
the long procession of coming generations rall}^ 
around and be true to the star spangled banner 
and proclaim worthy of the highest gratitude 
and admiration those who bore it gallantly and 
triumphantly on the fields of carnage, through 
the smoke and thunders of battle, with faith and 
courage daring the quick stroke of the flashing 
saber, the piercing ba^^onet, the crashing shot 
and screeching shell. 

The people of the United States have not 
only repelled invasion and thrown off the yoke 
of foreign and despotic power, but the}^ have re- 
organized their own political and social s^^stem 
on the principles of equality and justice, and 
established a Republic adapted to the develop- 



[ 21 ] 

ment of enterprise, to the unfolding of talent, to 
the exhibition of the loftiest flights of genius, 
and to the creation of the most exalted and sub- 
lime character. 

The citizens of this Republic can now ex- 
claim: 

••Qh Hberty I heaven'? choice prerogative. 
True bond of law : thou social soul of property ; 
Thou breath of reason : Hfe of Hfe itseU\" 

PERILS TO THE GOVERXMEXT. 

In the early ages of the world one of the 
greatest disturbing elements, which imperilled 
the peace and perpetuity of nations, was the con- 
flict between the common people and the nobles ; 
between the plebeian and patrician. 

This difference was so great, the evils result- 
ing from class dissensions so powerful and 
malign that it assumed the expressive name of 
''the irrepressible conflict." 

Pestilence and famine could only temporarily 
stifle the spirit of discord. 

The historian of Italy records that four hun- 
dred and fifty years before the Christian era a 
terrible pestilence again and again swept the 
Roman Empire. The woes of the land were so 
great that there was a temporary cessation of 



[ 22 ] 

hostilities between the common people and the 
nobles, bnt when better times dawned npon the 
country the old conflict revived. It was this fell 
spirit that caused Cassius and Brutus to imbrue 
their hands in the blood of Caesar. 

Happil}' there is no occasion for such a con- 
flict in this Republic. We have the principles 
of equalit}' and equal rights inscribed in a Con- 
stitution more enduring than the twelve tablets 
of brass which contained the Roman Constitu- 
tion. 

There should be no tyranny of wealth and 
rank over popular rights in this countr3^ There 
is the same law, the same government and the 
same tribunals of justice for all, and the doc- 
trine of equality is so thoroughl}- implanted in 
the Constitution and in the hearts of our coun- 
trymen that nothing but the utter demoraliza- 
tion of the people and the most dire and bloody 
revolution can disturb it. 

All just causes of internal strife and intestine 
war are removed. There is nothing in our 
social fabric, or in the laws of the land, or in the 
principles of our Government to array class 
against class or interest against interest, but 
distrust and dissension are absolutely forbidden 



[23 ] 

by the spirit of our laws and the genius of our 
Government. 

Happily this is the land where the various 
and multiform interests are united by the bonds 
of mutual dependence and mutual benefit. 
There is no real antagonism between the various 
departments of industry, no more than there is 
between intellect and organism, or between the 
brain and hand. 

The tares of Nihilism, anarchism and dyna- 
mitism are not the productions of our forefathers 
or of our Government, and should be plucked 
up and burned in unquenchable fire. 

In building up society and State some may 
contribute one commodity and some another, 
some capital and some labor, and all harmonize 
in producing individual profit, individual hap- 
piness and public prosperity. 

There is no just or reasonable cause of clash- 
ing in rights or interests, public or private. All 
have the' absolute right to determine their en- 
gagements and pursuits in life, providing they 
do not infringe upon the rights of others or are 
not engaged in business detrimental to the safe- 
ty of the State, and all alike have the same con- 
stitutional guarantee of security to their persons, 
property and pursuits. 



[ 24] 

Every one in this Repnblic has not only the 
right of the protection of law, bnt he has the 
conscience, the intelligence, the honor and the 
power of the nation to protect him and enforce 
the law, and woe will betide any nation when it 
has neither the spirit nor power to afford that 
protection. 

That this protection may be intelligent and 
effective, school houses, lecture rooms and 
churches adorn the land. To enlighten the 
mind, to enliven conscience, to elevate purpose, 
ambition and taste is the object of education. 

A SYSTEM OF FREE SCHOOLS 

Has been established, and has made accessible to 
all, places of usefulness, influence and honor. 
Tn these schools sound public sentiments are 
promulgated, and love of order and respect for 
law are taught. In these nurseries for the 
3^oung, respect for virtue is cultivated, and the 
glorious traditions of ancestral renown are re- 
cited and preserved and religion honored. 

As we study the history of our countr}^, its in- 
stitutions, its industries, the capacit}^ of our 
climate and soil for unlimited production, the 
material resources and intellectual and spiritual 



[ 25 J 

aspirations of our people, a boundless field of 
future prosperity and glory is unfolded. 

Education embraces a broad field. It does not 
consist simply in mastering mathematics, the 
classics, literature and the arts, but in restrain- 
ing the passions, and in cultivating and inspiring 
patriotic, worthy and lofty motives. 

THE SAFETY OF THE REPUBLIC 

Depends not alone upon the diffusion of knowl- 
edge in colleges, public schools and churches, 
but largely to 

HOME INFLUENCE AND A MOTHER'S CARE. 

There exists a power, a noiseless, ceaseless 
and uncomplaining agency connected with every 
individual life, whose importance cannot be 
over-estimated. To do justice to maternal influ- 
ence and authority, and as a most worthy and 
deserving tribute to mothers, I cheerfully adopt 
the language of the most eminent statesman 
that America has produced. 

It is the promulgation of sound morals in the 
community, and more especially by the training 
and instruction of the young, that woman per- 
forms her part toward the preservation of a free 
Government. It is generally admitted that pub- 
lic liberty and the perpetuity of a free constitu- 



[26 ] 

tion rest on the intelligence and the virtue of 
the community which enjoys it. How is that 
virtue to be inspired, and how is that intelligence 
to be imparted ? Bonaparte once asked Madame 
de Stael, in what manner he could best promote 
the happiness of France ? Her repl}^ is full of 
political wisdom. She said, instruct the mothers 
of the French people. Mothers are indeed the 
affectionate and effective teachers of the human 
race. The mother begins her process of training 
with the infant in her arms. It is she, so to 
speak, that directs its first mental and spiritual 
pulsations. She conducts it along the impressi- 
ble years of childhood and youth and hopes to 
deliver it to the stern conflicts and tumultuous 
scenes of life, armed with those good principles 
which her child has received from maternal care 
and love. 

If we draw within the circle of our contempla- 
tion the mothers of a civilized nation, what do 
we see ? We behold so many artificers working 
not on frail and perishable matter, but on the 
immortal mind, moulding and fashioning beings 
who are to live forever. We applaud the artist 
whose skill and genius present the mimic man 
on canvas ; we admire and celebrate the sculp- 
tor who works out that same image in enduring 



[ 27 ] 

marble ; but how insignificant are these achieve- 
ments, though the highest and the fairest in all 
the departments of art, in comparison with the 
great vocation of mothers ? They work not on 
canvas that shall perish or the marble that shall 
crumble into dust, but upon mind, upon spirit, 
which is to last forever, and which is to bear for 
good or evil throughout its duration the impress 
of a* mother's plastic hand. 

THE PRINCIPLES 
Of our Government are pure and correct. It is 
the work of masters and heroes. The seeds of 
permanent friendship, order and tranquillity are 
planted everywhere, and universal accord is now 
assured in the patriotic sentiment, " Liberty and 
union, one and inseparable, now and forever." 

Wherever civilization carries its cheer and 
hopes, the rise and progress of our Republic, and 
the events of its history, excite deep and vital 
interest and produce a most salutar}^ effect. 

There is nothing in our form of government to 
render it unstable or the rights of its citizens in- 
secure if intelligently and honestly administered. 

Through great tribulation its defects have 
been discovered and corrected, and it is now re- 
generated and established on the rock of justice 
and equalit}'. 



[ 2S ] 

The divine truths entertained and espoused by 
Patrick Henry, Adams, Otis and Jefferson were 
earl}^ published to the world, have been submit- 
ted to the arbitrament of war, refined and per- 
fected in the blaze of battle, established at the 
mouth of the cannon, and recorded in the Con- 
stitution of the United States, there to remain 
the fundamental law of the land, undimmed by 
time forever. 

As long as the sun rises and trees blossom, as 
long as universal nature moves on in harmonious 
action in the consummation of Jehovah's great 
plan, so long may coming generations reverence 
the heroic past, maintain the cardinal principles 
of our Constitution, Justice, Equality and Lib- 
erty, sustain and uphold this Republic, and ena- 
ble it to fulfill its high destiny, 

" The hope of all who suffer ; 

The fear of all who wrong." 



I TRRftRY OF CONGRESS 

011 801 'oS » 



